To celebrate 'World Hypnotism Day' on January 4, 2010 at 8:30PM GMT, British hypnotist Chris Hughes plans to hypnotize a record number of the Twitterati and Facebookers by simply broadcasting his voice via Twitter and Facebook.

Compared to other countries in the Middle East, the Iranian people have a high level of political maturity and an organized popular movement for democratic socio-political change. So why do Iranians continue to revolt on the blogosphere and the streets of Tehran?

Eating the right meal on New Year's Eve or Day could lead to good fortune. For centuries, people all over the world have noshed on certain foods that are thought to bring them luck on New Year's. Traditions vary per country, but it appears that if one follows the folklore, you can become what you eat on New Year's.

The mystery of a missing mom's disappearance on December 6 could have been ripped from a screenplay out of a Law & Order TV episode. Strange disappearance of a 28-year Susan Powell while husband Josh Powell takes toddlers camping in a wintery Utah desert the night she disappeared.

Google and other search engines have been caught in the cross-hairs of Rupert Murdoch's vitriolic attacks regarding content control. In the age of citizen journalism that is slowly melding into semantic technology before our very eyes, Murdoch's posturing is pure theatrics and his business model is outdated. The era of legacy of newspapers is waning and the titan of the tabloids needs to take heed.

Just as soon as secret rumors caught fire that Apple's soon-to-be released "tablet," will now be released under the new name, "iSlate," a fresh wave of rumors have hit the digital airwaves. Apparently, Google has released RFPs (Request For Proposal) to several hardware companies including two prominent computer manufacturers in Asia to launch their new netbook. While these two titans battle it out for marketshare, will Kindle and other PDA (personal digital assistant) devices just sit on sidelines?

If there is one coffee maker that has kept up with the times, it's Eight O'Clock Coffee. I guess like their slogan, "it's always 8 o'clock somewhere!" this coffee company feels that social media is as ubiquitous as a cup of Joe.

"In strengthening a synapse you build a connection, and certain
synapses are encoding a memory. Those synapses have to be strengthened
so that memory is in place and stays there. Strengthening synapses is a
very important part of learning. What we have found appears to be one
part of how that happens." (Kenneth S. Kosik,
co-director at UCSB's
Neuroscience Research Institute)

A recent Mashable report couldn't have been more on target when it recognized YouTube as the top social media innovation of the decade. That social media tool in the able of hands of Mohsen Sazegara, an opposition activist is being used as a military resource to rebel against Iranian tyranny that has swept the land since the disputed presidential elections held back in June. Like David versus Goliath, this is a classic tale of choosing the right weaponry.

The latest generation of Kindle was released in October. In November, Amazon’s Kindle broke sales records as the hottest item on holiday gift lists. My holiday blog titled "Kindle vs Nook & Sony e-Reader For The Holidays!" exceeded over 70,000 page-views. On Christmas day, Amazon's Kindle hit an unprecedented milestone in the publishing history - it sold more Kindle books than physical books.

McDonalds may be a global food force but the burger meister is anything but monolithic, adjusting its products to suit local customers. All well and good, but it remains to be seen if Japanese foodies will chow down on McD's 'Big American Taste'.

Substances similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are produced naturally in our brains. They are called endocannibinoids and are part of the body's endocannibinoid system, which include sweet taste receptors on the tongue. This might help explain the relationship between smoking a joint and eating a pound of chocolate.

Soon kids ages 6-12 will have their own social network according to Smart Kids Group Inc., a global provider of children's digital education and entertainment. A site called, "Live At The Hive" will launch with specialized content within a safe community that can be supervised by parents.

The casualties of sleep apnea are many: high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, various psychological disorders... not to mention injuries from accidents due to lack of sleep. Now, researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland have established a link between sleep apnea and liver disease.

There is so much buzz about Apple's new "tablet" launch in the Spring that you have to wonder what it will look like. True to Steve Jobs' 'trademark" of keeping his products a mystery until they officially launch, only a select group of designers and executives at Apple know exactly what design was selected for the device.

British designer Martin Smith has come up with the cleverest robot I've
seen this year: an automatic Applause Machine! It's not all decked out
like a human, either. Who needs a human? All you need is a button and
a pair of hands. See how it works....

If you hang out in dance clubs, play in a band, listen to music blasting from your car
stereo or your audio headphones, or use noisy machinery, you'll be glad
to know that there is relief available for the after-effects of those
experiences. The "cure" for temporary tinnitus, the bothersome ringing or buzzing in your ears, was developed by two Irish physics students, who probably have experienced some tinnitus of their own.

A new wrinkle in Holiday Shopping. One the hottest location-based social networks on the market today just added Augmented Reality to one's holiday shopping experience. Just point your smartphone's camera toward any shopping area and view more than you bargained for.

Rumors are running rampant that Google is closing in on a potential
acquisition of Yelp. Why would the Search Engine Giant consider such a
move? Might a small savvy start-up like Foursquare be in its cross-hairs?